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Hanson, religious leaders, ask Bush to push for Middle East peace

Following Mahmoud Abbas's election as head of the Palestinian Authority, religious leaders worldwide called on President Bush to renew efforts to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson was among 57 religious leaders who took out a full-page ad in the Jan. 21 issue of The New York Times, urging Bush to "rededicate himself to the establishment of Middle East Peace."

"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become a threat to the people of the United States," the ad says. "With each news report of Palestinian suffering ... popular support in Arab and Muslim countries for terrorism grows and the threat of attacks directed at the United States increases.